OXFORD COUNTY SOCIETY. 39 



John Reed, Esq., of Westbrook, to accompany me. In this, I had 

 a twofohl purpose ; to see through his eyes as well as my own, all 

 that should be seen — and to cull from an abundant store-house, ideas 

 for my private use. He is a fortunate man who secures for a com- 

 panion in a crowd, one who unites in his person the urbane gentle- 

 man, the man of large experience in business, and one not chary in 

 expression. 



"VVe left Portland by the evening train on the A. & St. L. R. R., 

 on Tuesday, the first day of the show, and proceeded to South Paris 

 station ; thence, by stage, to the village of Norway, passing the 

 show grounds. This was my first visit to the county of Oxford. 



"Wednesday morning opened pleasantly, and at an early hour we 

 walked over the smooth, sandy plain, that extends from the village 

 eastward for two miles or more, a part of it being the "disputed 

 territory," famous in recent history of Maine legislation. From 

 this plain, we get a fine view of verdant hills in JSTorway, Paris and 

 Oxford, realizing all that we had conceived the county of Oxford to be. 



The spacious lot occupied by the Society, is bounded on its north- 

 erly side by the public road. The buildings connected therewith — 

 a hall of two stories, an office and a hay barn — are each entered 

 from the road. On the opposite side of the road is the unfenced 

 plain, sparsely weeded, affording ample space for the teams of visitors 

 to the Fair, and all the outside concomitants to such a gathering of 

 the sovereign people. Within the park, the original pines have been 

 retained on one side, under which are arranged the cattle pens. A 

 glance at the enclosed grounds and its surroundings, — noting the 

 character of the soil — with the easy distance to two large and thriv- 

 ing villages, shows advantages of location for all legitimate purposes, 

 certainly not excelled by that of any other society. 



At the entrance, we vvere met by the officers of the Society, wel- 

 comed, and passed to the exhibition. We were told that but little 

 progress was made on the first day. The rain on Monday, with 

 indications for a protracted storm, delayed the preparations of con- 

 tributors, and we saw many articles and some stock then arriving. 



We wished to see the book of Entries, but the Secretary not having 

 closed it to applicants, we could not do so without clogging the 

 course of business. The Secretary seemed to have his business well 

 arranged, and was able to give prompt answers to the few questions 



